Love your clothes

Find out how to reduce the amount of clothing and textiles thrown away in Essex, by learning to repair, mend, and recycle your clothes.

Two women looking out from between clothes on a rail.

We want to reduce the amount of clothes and textiles thrown away in Essex. It’s estimated that in each Essex home about £1,200-worth of clothes lay forgotten and unworn. This clothing could easily be reused or recycled in Essex.

Please do not dispose of textiles in your general rubbish bins – unless you have stuffed textiles such as duvets and pillows which cannot be cleaned or donated.

How to reduce textiles being thrown away

Think before you buy. Do you really need it? If yes, consider purchasing something pre-owned or investing in good-quality clothing that will last longer.

If you are thinking of throwing something away due to a hole or frayed seam then why not try and repair it yourself?

If you have good-quality clothing that you no longer want, please consider:

donating to charity
depositing at a local bring bank
selling online on sites such as eBay, Vinted and Gumtree
selling at a boot sale
holding a clothes swap event – where you can swap items with friends

Kerbside collections of textiles

Some local councils offer a kerbside collection of textiles. Please check below which items are accepted:

Recycling textiles

Textiles in a condition beyond reuse can be recycled.

Textiles can be deposited at bring banks (also known as clothes banks) commonly found in car parks, supermarkets, and town centres or in textile recycling banks at your local recycling centre.

Some retailers also offer take-back schemes for textiles and even money-off vouchers!

What textiles can be recycled?

All curtains, blankets, bed linen, shoes, and clothing. This includes: pillow cases, sheets, duvet covers, tights, underwear, and odd socks. Please be aware that some bring banks limit which textiles they accept.